Inspired by the Boston Marathon

As I'm sure all of you know by now, yesterday was the Boston Marathon. Up until a year or two ago when I first became interested in running I didn't know anything about the Boston Marathon. Yeah, I knew it existed. But I had no idea that there were qualifying times to run it. I didn't know the race had such a history. I couldn't comprehend how much it represented in the running world.

I still do not know all that much about the Boston Marathon, but what I do know is that I want to qualify for it someday. I am by no means a fast runner and I am okay with that. For the time being. One day I want to experience for myself what all the hype is about. I want to wear the finishers jacket with pride everywhere I go. I want to be a part of something that it so influential and powerful in this community.

This is the 2012 color of the jacket.

Yesterday was the 116th running of the Boston Marathon. 116 years is not any kind usual anniversary but this year's race was truly special because it marked the 40th anniversary of women being allowed to run in the race. It also marked the 45th anniversary of a female, Kathrine Switzer, running the Boston Marathon.

Even though I have only been running for about a year now, there has never been a time when I felt like I wasn't a runner or an athlete simply because I was a female. I am lucky to be a part of a community where being female is not a bad thing. Most races now are mostly comprised of female runners in fact!

Besides the history aspect of the race, yesterday's Boston Marathon was special because of the record setting temps. The high in Boston yesterday was around 90 degrees, which is unthinkable for this time of year. The race organizers put out multiple warnings about the dangerously hot weather and advised people to not go all out during the race.

It was 90 degrees here in Baltimore yesterday and I can tell you 90 degrees is really effing hot. I can't even imagine running a marathon in those temps. I was sweating as soon as I went outside and opted for a trainer ride in the air conditioning instead of braving the heat for a run.

Despite the offer to transfer your entry until next year due to the heat, many people ran anyway because they had already payed to travel all the way there. Everybody who ran in yesterday's race amazed me. I am not sure what I would have done if I was in that situation but I do know it wouldn't have been pretty. To those of you who stuck it out and ran despite the heat, you deserve and extra medal. You should be more than proud of yourselves. And to those runners who opted to not run the race and chose the deferment instead, you are very smart. Don't think you quit or took the easy way out. Running in those temps is very dangerous and not worth it. There is always next year.

Inspired By the Olympic Marathon Trials

As I'm sure all of you know, the Olympic trials for the men's and women's marathon were on Saturday. While I wasn't as lucky as Emily or Sarah and wasn't in Houston as spectators extraordinaire, I was glued to Twitter all morning for live updates. I have never run a marathon and I have only been running for a few months but I still felt pride watching our nations best achieving their spot to represent the USA in the London 2012 Olympics.

Lately I have been really struggling with finding motivation to train for my upcoming half marathon. Watching the trials really inspired me though. No runner out there by taking the easy way. They were all focused on achieving their dreams. I loved seeing all of their hard work pay off at such a special event.

I came to the realization, as simple as it may be, that I need to figure out what is truly important to me. What do I want to achieve in my life. I won't be motivated to do something unless I am truly passionate about. More specifically, what I need to figure out is what motivates me to do those things that are important and that I want to achieve. I want to be a runner and triathlete but I have to figure out how to add these two sports comfortably to my life.

For me, the trials couldn't have come at a better time. I am around eight weeks out from my spring half marathon. I still have time to turn my sour attitude around. I am going to channel my inspiration from this country's greatest runners into my training. I am going to run because I love it and because I can, not because I have to.

Inspired by the Ironman World Championships Once Again

The Ironman World Championships were on NBC earlier today and if you didn't watch then you really missed out. The special not only showed the professional athletes but also those age groupers who finished last.

There was coverage of Chrissie Wellington's come back to win the entire race for the fourth time, making her undefeated at the Ironman distance.

There was coverage of Craig Alexander fighting through cramps and muscle spasms to break the world record and become the oldest person to win in Kona.

And then there was coverage of the average age groupers who juggle a family, a full-time job, and other hobbies with Ironman training.

As much as I love watching the pros, it was the old man who was trying to finish his 22nd consecutive Kona in the allotted time slot that brought me to tears. I forget how old he was, but he pushed his body so hard he kept falling over in the final mile. His body literally kept giving out on him, yet he never quit.

The Ironman World Championships make me proud to be an athlete and excited for what I have in store when I start my triathlon journey. This race is a truly spectacular event that everyone should watch at least once.

I am going to take this inspiration with me to my workouts throughout this upcoming week and remember never to quit no matter what.

Some Inspiration

Happy Friday everyone! It is supposed to be cold and snowy here this weekend so I thought I would share some motivation to help with running in this weather:

Don't Settle for Less Than the Best, Be the Best

Since running my very first half marathon on Saturday, I have been designing a training plan for my next half in March. I have been trying to think about what I want to achieve from this race and how to achieve those goals. In doing all of this I started thinking about what kinds of training elite and professional runners do.

I have always been involved in some type of athletic activity: soccer and dance when I was a kid, swimming growing up and through high school, and now running. I was a pretty successful swimmer, qualifying for nationals, but I never really reached my full potential. 

I have always settled for being mediocre and for no good reason at all. Now I know I will never be as fast as a Kenyan, and I am okay with that, but I sure as hell can be better than I am now. I have only been running for a few months now, and most of my training has been extremely inconsistent. 

I started wondering what I could achieve if I really put my heart and soul into running and trained consistently. I have absolutely no idea what I could I achieve, but you know what, I want to find out. I want to be a runner.

I know I have the drive and determination to do great things, and honestly I am so sick of just settling. This is my life and I should strive to achieve the best for myself. I am only sabotaging myself by not putting my all into my training. 

I am ready to be happy and proud of myself and to be the best version of myself. I want to know that I put my all into everything and that I deserve to do great things. 

And this goes for more than just running. I don't want to settle for a B in school when I know an A is possible with an extra hour of studying. I want to be the best sister, daughter, friend, student, girlfriend possible. 

I think it is really important, though, to make sure that I am only doing the things that I love and that I would to dedicate myself to. With passion there really is nothing anymore. 

I have big dreams for myself, I always have and I always will. I don't want to be what is holding me back any longer. I want to do an Ironman someday, I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon someday. If I never achieve the goals I set for myself I want to know that I gave it my all and couldn't have tried any harder.

No day but today. Get moving and start achieving those dreams!

Inspired by The Ironman World Championship & Chrissie Wellington

As many of you know the Ironman World Championship was on Saturday. Even though I spent most of the day completing my last long run I managed to squeeze in some Kona watching in between my runs.

Even though I am nowhere in the shape I would need to be right now, completing an Ironman is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time now. I watched bits and pieces of the race, but most importantly the male and female first place finishers. Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington, of course.

I couldn't help but tear up when I saw Chrissie cross the finish line in first place, despite being in a terrible bike crash only two weeks ago. Her swim was significantly slower than normal, and she was in fourth off the bike. But she is a true champion and pushed on despite her injuries. When fellow competitor Mirinda Carfrae started closing the gap on Chrissie towards the end of the race it was unsure if she could hold onto her well-earned lead.

Chrissie doesn't quit though. She never once let up and started running easier just because she was finally in the lead. She made no excuses despite everything she had been through. Better yet, she had a huge smile on her face the entire time. She even attempted a Blazeman roll after crossing the finish line but had to cut it short because of her road rash.

I was so inspired by watching this race, and especially Chrissie. Watching athletes like the ones at the Ironman World Championship makes me want to strive to be the best athlete that I can be. To push myself beyond what I think possible. I want to go into races knowing that I did everything I possibly could.